1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chip component take-in apparatus which prismatic chip components in a bulk state in a storage chamber are taken in one by one in a predetermined direction and are guided downward. The chip component take-in apparatus can be employed as a component take-in mechanism in a chip component feeding apparatus such as a bulk feeder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional chip component take-in apparatus of the above kind is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-232596.
The chip component take-in apparatus disclosed in the aforementioned publication is equipped with a housing box for storing a large number of chip components in a bulk state, a component take-in pipe inserted into the lower face of the housing box so that it is movable up and down, and a component conveying tube disposed inside the component take-in pipe.
In the chip component take-in apparatus, the chip components within the housing box are taken into the component take-in pipe one by one in the longitudinal direction of the chip component, by moving the component take-in pipe up and down. The chip components taken into the component take-in pipe are moved downward along the pipe by self-weight.
However, since the aforementioned conventional chip component take-in apparatus has been designed for taking in cylindrical chip components, it is very difficult to handle prismatic chip components such as those shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b).
That is, in the case of the prismatic chip components shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), it is necessary to arrange in a proper posture the four side faces excluding the longitudinal end faces to take them in. The aforementioned apparatus, however, cannot perform the control of such a posture.
In order to perform the posture control, it is easily conceivable to set the cross sectional shape of the interior holes of the component take-in pipe and component conveying pipe with the end face shape of the chip component. However, in the aforementioned apparatus in which the component take-in pipe is moved up and down in the outside of the component conveying pipe, there is the possibility that the take-in operation will be frequently erred, because the probability that prismatic chip components are taken into the component take-in pipe is low.